Treatment options of early-stage lung cancer: surgery or stereotactic body radiotherapy / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

For the treatment of early non-small cell lung cancer, surgery is still one of the most important curative treatments. Lung segment or subsegment resection under video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is becoming more and more popular. With the development of radiotherapy technology, Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) has achieved the similar or the same curative effect as surgery. It has become an indisputable curative treatment for patients who can not or refuse surgery, and there are still some disputes among those who can operate. Therefore, this review will elaborate on these treatment methods in order to help update the concept and provide more treatment methods and obtain more benefits for patients. Although it is no randomized clinical trial to compare SBRT with surgery, we suggest that SBRT is the curative treatment for patients who can not or refuse surgery. Especially for the elderly, or patients with cardiopulmonary diseases, diabetes and other high-risks. SBRT should become the main treatment methods, because its curative effect is not inferior to surgery and its complications are fewer and lighter. Therefore, for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in the early stage, it is more importent to choose individualized treatment methods so as to more benefit.